A flat tyre is one of the worst nightmares a driver could encounter. Some may not have the right tools in their ride or do not know how to change the flat tyre with their spare ones. Wouldn’t it be great if there is a tyre that could prevent a puncture?

A company called RhinoTire has developed a new tyre coating process that the company claims that would prevent flat tyres from small punctures by sealing itself; sounds like something from a sci-fi movie. And there’s even more that this new process could do.

On top of preventing small punctures by sealing itself, the company also claims that the tyre coating process could also boost fuel economy by ten percent, makes the tyre lasts twenty five percent longer, maintain tyre pressure much longer and reduce tyre noise significantly.

This is how it works. A special polymer is coated into the inside of the tyre’s tread which can seal itself up to a quarter inch (0.635cm) of deep punctures. The added polymer blend is baked into the tyre and adhered to the rubber, where it exists as a gel. When a nail goes through the tyre, the gel fills into the hole and maintains tyre pressure without allowing air to escape. The gel adds 1 pound of weight (0.45kg) per tyre, but RhinoTire claims that handling will not be affected.

The process was developed by engineers in Hungary and it took around a decade of research before the correct formulation was found. Tests done later showed that the product had additional benefits. With the polymer sealing the inside of the tyre, that can help reduce pressure loss and boost (or at least maintain) fuel economy.

RhinoTire’s US distributor, Kevin Fields, commented that the product will also keep the tyre tread cooler which is an important consideration for running at high speed and it will also reduce both noise and vibration. Application costs are between US$75 and US$100 and it is done at the company’s USA facility in New Jersey.

Fields also mentioned that a major international tyre company will soon start using the RhinoTire polymer in the manufacturing of that company’s new tyres. And this shows that the technology has proven to produce results.